Calor Gas Appliances

Calor gas appliances are not just limited to portable heaters and Barbecues.

Here are a selection of  appliances which are cheaper and greener to run than using electricity or mains gas

Heaters

Calor gas heaters have been the UK's no.1 choice of portable heater since the 1970s.

The Home Heating Shop recommends that every home should have at least one as a backup heater because they are a portable independent heating unit, essential in case of winter power cuts and bad weather.

See our winter survival guide for tips on beating winter power cuts and weather.

For a selection of best buy Calor gas heaters see our Calor gas heater reviews page.

There are also fixed Calor gas central heating systems which can be bottle powered or use a large static tank, visit The Home Fire Shop for details.

If you have one of these systems then some of the  Calor gas appliances shown here can be run from the same gas supply.

Patio heaters

For those cooler spring and autumn days, balmy summer evenings or sunny winter days a  Calor gas patio heater is a must for enjoying the outdoors.

There is a massive range of styles, from the traditional tabletop or stand lamp types to flame towers, tubes, chimineas and contemporarily styled heaters which look more like modern artworks than patio heaters.

If your looking for one then take a look at our Recommended gas Patio Heaters.

Barbecues

After heaters,  the most common Calor gas appliances are barbecues.

 A cleaner and far easier to light alternative to the traditional charcoal barbecue.

As a long time garden chef, I always thought that charcoal couldn't be beaten. I was wrong, gas is healthier, cleaner and just as tasty see  my Summer Barbecue article

We recommend the Char-Broil® range for your summer barbecues, made by the American company who invented the modern BBQ. B&Q also do a decent range of budget Calor gas barbecues, you can buy online and they offer free delivery on purchases over £50.

See our  recommended BBQs here

Cookers

Another popular appliance is the Calor gas cooker, mostly used in UK areas where there is no mains gas supply.

Many people prefer them to electric cookers as they have the control of gas cooking with the advantage of still working if there is an interruption to the power supply.

These are the main form of cooker used throughout the world where electricity is difficult to get or the supply is erratic, you'll often find LPG cookers installed in your holiday apartments abroad.

Some mains gas cookers, such as the Rangemaster pictured here available from Co-op Electrical, come with the option of converting to Calor gas. If you see one you like it's worth asking if they have a conversion kit, or contact a gas registered engineer and ask if it can be converted.

Most gas cookers designed for mains gas have electric ovens and electric ignition, so if there is a power cut the oven won't work and you will have to manually light the hob.

Cookers designed to work with Calor gas usually have gas-powered ovens and piezoelectric ignition which does not need an electric supply to work.

Tumble dryers

Not so well known are Calor gas operated tumble dryers, they are more expensive to buy than similar electric ones but cost about 25% less to run than a standard electric tumble dryer, dry faster and with much less of the static build that damages and shortens the life of your clothes.

A Calor gas operated dryer uses about 300 - 400 watts per hour, a standard electric tumble dryer can use up to 4000 watts per hour.

Although they still need an electric supply for the motor to rotate the drum and drive the fan, the electricity usage is minimal, at a couple of watts per hour. See our Article on gas tumble driers for more details.

Fridges

A much rarer appliance in the UK is the Calor gas fridge, usually only found in motorhomes. Full sized ones are expensive, a 97-litre one will cost just over £1000.

More common are the gas operated cooler boxes which are used for keeping bottles of water or other drinks cool on campsites, at fetes & festivals or anywhere without a steady electric supply.

Coolers such as the 41 litres Dometic RC1200 pictured here and available from Amazon (it can hold 13 X 2-litre bottles)  are versatile. Their power source can be switched between electricity from 12v sockets for caravans and camper vans, 230v mains for campsite outlets and LPG for remote locations.
Dometic also produces a range of full-sized LPG refrigerators which can be also be switched between mains electricity and Calor gas, such as the RGE 2100 pictured here, also available from Amazon.

Water Heaters

A Calor gas water heater means that you can have a hot shower in any ventilated space you can run a water supply (or hose pipe) to with reasonable water pressure (0.02 -0.8 bar).

No water tank is needed and they are compact enough to fit anywhere

You can install one in the garage as a pet shower  to wash the mud of your dogs before they come inside, or have one in your allotment shed so you don't have to trail muck through the house to wash down, the uses are endless.

Ideal for guest bedrooms as you don't have to pay an electrician to run a spur to the new shower.

a Calor gas shower costs about the same as a mid  range electric shower, but is much more versatile.

If you already have  an LPG heating system at home then you should already have these installed instead of expensive electric showers.

Outdoor water heaters are completely waterproof and don't need an external electric supply.

They can be used anywhere outdoors, on campsites, at the beach, in the garden or at the stables to wash down horses.

Pumps

 Calor gas water pumps are quieter and less than half as expensive to run as a petrol or diesel pumps, due to the increased energy efficiency and lower fuel consumption, with the added bonus of no fuel spillage risks as you are running the pump from a sealed bottle.

When empty instead of refilling from containers of fuel (definitely something to be avoided on a cold, dark stormy night tramping around in several inches of water), refuelling means just connecting a new bottle.

For as little as £300 you can get a 2" Greengear pump which can lift water from 30 meters deep and can clear up to 25m³ per hour.

The pump can also be used for other water moving tasks such as draining ponds, pools, hot tubs and lawn sprinkling.
For more serious flood risks involving sewage or in agricultural settings a 3" sewage water pump with a flow rate of 35m³ per hour is available for £450.

Generators

In case of power cuts or other emergencies when you need a backup electricity supply. a generator is a must-have item.

Smaller portable units (delivering about 2kW)  are also useful for camping trips, Caravans and motor homes.  Or when working a distance from home where there is no electric supply.

Larger fixed generators can be set to automatically cut in if your home power fails. An ideal safety backup measure in case of winter power cuts.

Our recommended Champion generators available from Machine Mart have free extended guarantees and will start in temperatures as low as -30°C, ideal for winter emergencies, they are all dual fuel.

The home backup generators can be set to run on Natural gas or LPG. The portable generators can use petrol or propane